SOMETIMES SILENCE STEALS THE SHOW

What's more important in an orchestral performance: the sound or the silence?

How about in a screenplay?

I've spent more than two decades conducting professional orchestras. And something I've learned along the way is that silence can be as expressive as the music itself.

Think about the possibilities…

The pin-drop silence before the first note.

The abrupt silence after a ferocious orchestral climax.

The tension created by a perfectly timed rest.

The silence at the end of a deeply moving performance.

None of these silences is empty, and each one has a different emotional impact. And the conductor has to shape those silences just as deliberately as the music.

I've been thinking about this a great deal as a screenwriter.

We spend an enormous amount of time writing dialogue - - finding exactly the right words, refining exchanges, searching for the perfect, character revealing line (or the zinger that could break the Internet).

But sometimes, the most powerful choice is for a character to say nothing.

A character asks a question… then no answer.

A pointed accusation… but there’s no denial.

A devastating revelation… instead of the usual outburst, silence.

The silence isn’t simply a pause in the action. Sometimes it’s where truth lives.

So, I'm curious how other writers think about this.

When you're writing a scene, do you consciously consider the dramatic possibilities of silence? Or do you discover those moments instinctively as the scene develops?

Ethan Danov

Conductor | Screenwriter